The First Dream
by ThexWhitexPhoenix
Summary: Sequel to Dream. They were prisoners in their own home, and slowly their hearts hardened under the vicious treatment they received from their family. There was but one kindness in their harsh and lonely lives. They had each other. They were eternally bound to each other, and no one could take that away from them, not even the man they called 'father'. They would make sure of it.
1. Chapter 1

This is the second installment of my trilogy, The First Dream. If you have not read part one, Dream, then I recommend you do so first.

**Hey, here I am, half a year later… yeah… The reason it took so long before I published the second part was because I decided to rewrite the whole thing. I was not satisfied with my earlier work at all and I still feel that it's lacking compared to the first part so this is just a check to see if you like it. Also, this story consists of short chapters mostly. This is purely a sibling related fanfic and updates will not have a set date, unfortunately.**

**One Piece and its characters belong to Eiichiro Oda. ****Dominica belongs to me.**

* * *

Their mother loved them, she told them so every day, from the moment she woke them up in the morning until she put them to bed in the evening. Her beautiful blonde hair, long and wavy, was the first thing Doflamingo grasped in the morning before he truly woke up. Her gentle teal eyes, narrow and bright, seemed to overflow with happiness whenever she looked their way. This made him firmly believe that she loved them, him and his baby sister, Dominica. Their mother would often take them outside for a picnic, just the three of them, and even if Doflamingo did not like the thought of the books in their mother's bag, he always looked forward to being outside with his family.

Dominica would always play with their mother's hair, teaching herself how to braid hair. Their mother looked very pretty with a braid, even if Dominica's chubby fingers made it look sloppy. Doflamingo especially loved how Dominica's eyes lit up whenever their mother would mention medicinal herbs. Whenever Doflamingo hurt himself, their mother would kiss his bruise after treating the wound. Dominica would always watch carefully whenever their kind and loving mother ever treated him.

He knew he loved his mother, because she always made Dominica smile, she always made him feel needed and cared for. That was love. That was his love. The love he and Dominica shared for this one individual. And she and Dominica both belonged with him. She brought light into their life, brought them an endless amount of happiness and a desire to share that feeling with her. Because they knew their mother would always be there, the two never stopped smiling, they never stopped enjoying their childhood, they knew that as long as they had her by their side they would never be alone, and they were satisfied with that.

Their father was another story. He never even graced them with a glance, he would always ignore them. Doflamingo could not recall the man ever speaking a word to him, except for one time, and that was one of his earliest memories of him.

"Do not talk to me, do not look at me, cur." But Doflamingo was not hurt by those words. Their mother loved them, she gave them enough happiness, he did not need his father and neither did Dominica. Their world revolved around this woman, and they would always be with her, that was their naïve belief. They were children, and like any other child they clung to that childish notion.

But then, one day, Doflamingo and Dominica were all alone in the mansion, which suddenly seemed so much bigger than it had before. Their mother could no longer wake them up in the morning, she could never continue their education, she could never fill them with happiness again.

For how could a corpse embrace them, fill them with safety and love and happiness?


	2. Chapter 2

**One Piece and its characters belong to Eiichiro Oda. ****Dominica belongs to me.**

* * *

The nightmare began after the funeral, or, if the truth was to be said, the lack thereof. The siblings were only eight when their mother passed away, having made the mistake of looking their father in the eye and not bowing to him in a fit of anger, but they understood very well that it was disrespectful of their father not to hold a funeral, to not grant them a last farewell. Dominica had asked him after she had managed to stop crying why he would not hold a funeral for their mother and was rewarded with a slap to the face.

"Do not talk to me, cur!" Doflamingo had stared on in shock as his sister fell the floor, cheek swelling and darkening, turning an angry red instead of the slight tan it normally was. His eyes widened along with hers, and he watched speechlessly as tears gathered and overflowed from her eyes and how she cried in pain. He felt a dull ache in his chest before anger overpowered it. He screamed in rage, ran forward and hit his father's legs. It earned him a swift kick which sent him sprawling back to his sister. The man screamed at them in rage himself, telling them how worthless half-breeds like them did not deserve the time of day, how they were insignificant to him, how he had no need for them, And then he stormed off, leaving the two children alone.

Once the door shut behind him Dominica crawled over to her brother and clung to him, and only then, when he hugged her back, did he allow himself to cry, though it was not out of sadness. He felt empty, alone and angry. Their father's words, which they had given no thought to when their mother was alive, finally managed to hurt them. Finally, after having ignored those words for years, did they finally realize one horrible truth.

They were alone.

They were alone in a mansion which seemed to be twice the size now, and hollow to the bone. The light they had clung onto since birth was gone, and no longer did it fill the halls of their home with warmth, they felt out of place and not welcome. In their own home! Looking down at Dominica, who was still crying loudly, both in fear and pain, a thought came to the young boy's mind.

Was this even their home anymore? Did they belong here, or had they lost what little connection they had to this place when their mother passed away, in a pool of her own blood in their father's office?

"Don't cry." Doflamingo suddenly said and Dominica looked up, though she did not manage to stop crying. Never had anyone hit her before, least of all an adult, and having had to go through such an experience when she was just a little girl was quite frightening. The man that had hit her was her father, someone who according to their late mother should love them just as much as she did, someone who should hold their hands in times like these, someone who should tuck them into bed and tell them a bedtime story. There was no love to be found in that noble's eyes though, only cold disgust. The man was cruel, and there was nothing in the two she could relate to him, and somehow, even though it was disheartening, it was also so very relieving.

"I said don't cry!" The rough outburst shocked his sister into silence and for a moment it seemed like she was afraid of _him. _As if she thought he was just like their fath- _No! _That man did not deserve that title! He did not like it so he quickly hugged her tighter.

"Sorry, don't cry, don't cry." Dominica always smiled, always laughed. Her eyes would shine with the same light as their mother, except hers were wider, more naïve. He loved that about her. He did not want that to change, he did not want to wake up every morning to see that light dull with each day that passed.

"Father… Father hit me!" She finally managed to speak and Doflamingo clenched his eyes shut. "He's not our father!" Doflamingo exclaimed. The words tasted right on his tongue, and he liked it, and that would never change.

"He… He's not our father. We don't have one!" Those words made the mansion feel even bigger and more hollow again and he almost regretted them as soon as they were out his mouth if it was not for the angry reminder on Dominica's cheek. The bruised skin screamed at him and he glowered at it.

If he could one day repay the noble pig with pain worth a thousand times more, it would still not be enough to satisfy him.

No one hurt Dominica. She was his little sister, and he would protect her.

Always and forever.


	3. Chapter 3

**I want your honest opinion on this chapter. I feel like I'm getting nowhere, as if it isn't as good as Dream was...**

**One Piece and its characters belong to Eiichiro Oda. ****Dominica belongs to me.**

* * *

Doflamingo had never liked his cousins, nor his uncles… or aunties or even his grandparents for that matter. He would very much like to see them all fall into a big black hole beneath the mansion and be buried alive. If he could make that fantasy into a reality he would be a very happy teenager.

Alas, that fantasy would probably never come to fruition. No one would dare stand up to a Celestial Dragon, unfortunately, and while the guards in the palace would not dare talk back against him because of the damnable blood he carried or rat him out, they would never follow that order either, should he issue it. Well, as long as he was still just a child they would never do it. Maybe he could employ some assassins when he became of age? The wait would only last four more years if he followed through on that plan.

Why did a fourteen year old boy think such thoughts, you may wonder? The reason was very simple. He was born into the _esteemed _and _honored _family of the Celestial Dragons. If that did not answer your question, then there were more reasons for it, of course.

First off, the other family members were all _pure blooded,_ while Doflamingo and Dominica were half-breeds. Doflamingo would rather be a half-breed for the rest of his life than ever be like those disgusting people who thought the world revolved around them.

Because it didn't.

Second, because they were half-breeds, and therefore worth just as much as _low-class people,_ in other words the rest of the world's population, they were constantly looked down upon. While they were not mistreated as bad as the servants, they were treated as dirt, which said a lot about how the servants were treated in the mansion. Often would they be picked on too, made fun off because of their ludicrous hair color, since no other Celestial Dragon was blonde, called stupid and told that they were just allowed to stay in the mansions because they were lucky enough to have a world noble as a father. Yet they still would never amount to anything.

The twins did not exactly consider themselves lucky to share blood with that wretch. They considered themselves lucky because neither of them shared any resemblance to that man at all. They had inherited everything from their beautiful and loving mother, hair and eye color, skin color and the like. There were times when they had wondered how she could have been so loving, so good, so _perfect_ when the people she had been forced to stay with were so foul, so full of themselves and in Doflamingo's eyes, utterly _ridiculous._ It must have been hard. She must have been strong.

He wasn't that strong, but at times like these he really wished he was.

"Father! Father!" One of his cousins, a girl a few years older than the twins, barged into the dining room. The boy had begun to wonder where she had been. Both she and Dominica had never come to dinner, though if he knew his sister right, which he did, she was probably hidden away in the great library somewhere, studying medicine like their mother had. Taking a closer look at his cousin, his stomach dropped at the sight of the red swelling on her cheek. He was no fool, he could put two and two together. Both her and Dominica had been away during most of the dinner, and that infernal woman's favorite pastime when they visited was tormenting the younger girl.

'_Dominica, what have you done?'_

"What is it?" His uncle shot to his feet, his loud and deep voice booming as he narrowed his eyes at the sight. Apparently he too had noticed the bruise.

"That wretch, Dominica! She hit me! Punish her!"

'_Shut up…'_ The thought flitted through the boy's mind, but he was too mortified to speak out. Their father would definitively hurt Dominica; there was no doubt about that. Doflamingo could imagine how bad it would be afterwards and the image froze him in his seat. They couldn't hurt her! Not his Dominica, not his little sister! Not again!

"Brother!" His uncle turned to his father, eyes raging, though when the blonde boy turned to look at his father he could see nothing more than fury, brutal and which would soon be unleashed on a fourteen year old girl. By the man who should be holding her hand and love her.

'_Shut up.'_

"I will deal with this. Where is she now?"

"In the library, reading stupid books about stupid medicines!"

'_Shut up!'_ Studying medicine was not stupid. They were the stupid ones, who did not fully appreciate the necessity of the knowledge his little sister sought out.

"She's still insisting on doing such foolish things?" Their father roared and stood up so quickly the chair fell over, landing with a deafening thud. The man pulled himself to his full height and stalked around the table, apologizing to a poor _distraught _niece and giving her a comforting hug. For a moment Doflamingo wished it was him and Dominica who were hugged, who were comforted and told everything would be alright. For a tiny moment he wanted to have a father, to be cared for again.

It left a bitter aftertaste in his mouth and he hated it.

"I'll have to educate her on her position in the household again." Those words left the mouth of the man who should be encouraging his daughter to explore and learn more, yet all he did was turning her into a mindless puppet. A puppet for the old man to control, to be cast away when he no longer needed her.

A day which was coming too soon for Doflamingo's taste.

"Shut up!" Doflamingo had finally found his voice, his legs were listening to him again and he shot up from his seat, the chair falling back just as quickly as his father's had, landing with just as deafening a thud as the older man's had. It left an eerie silence in the room as everyone stared at him, mouths agape in disbelief.

"Don't you touch her!" Dominica did not deserve to be treated this way and neither would he allow it. He was the big brother, he was supposed to protect her and if that meant he would have to take the punishment in her stead then so be it. Dominica was not some servant or slave to be backhanded whenever their father was in the mood for it. She was his little sister, and it was about time the man in front of them recognized them for who they truly were, even if they hated the fact just as much as he did.

"She's your daughter!" And the words felt wrong and bitter and treacherous. It was like he had betrayed a part of himself when he said it, because it had been an acknowledgement. He acknowledged this brute as their father.

"Watch your tongue, boy, or else I'll have to educate you as well." The noble was calm, and that was terrifying in itself, for usually he would scream degrading adjectives at his son by now. It gave Doflamingo pause before he narrowed his teal eyes at the man and curled his lips back.

"Why don't you go beat up some slave instead of your own flesh and blood, coward!" Those words felt right, and the teenager felt oddly proud and satisfied with having been able to say it to the face of his father instead of snarling it at every painting of the man he saw. Even if Doflamingo towered over the noble if he stood up at his full height, the man was still stronger, still older and still in control of the slaves and guards. The rage which had been slowly building up in his father had now transformed the color on his face from red to almost dark purple, but this time the teenager stood his ground as well, glaring and snarling right back. He had let this go on for too long already; he knew Dominica wouldn't be able to take much more. She had stopped crying a long time ago and most of the time she would suddenly fall so deep into thought she could sit for hours staring into empty space, giving no response to any who tried to snap her out of it. That was not healthy and the worst part of it all was:

She stopped smiling.

To a big brother, having such an atrocity happen was unforgivable, and he would have his revenge, even if it was the last thing he would ever get.

Then the guards were upon him. He did not know when his father had summoned them, but their tight grip on him was very real. Even if he was physically stronger than most boys his age, trained guards were still way out of his league, though that did not stop him from trying. He struggled and cursed, threatening the men holding him, but while they did seem rather reluctant they did not dare go against the head of the household.

'_Cowards, the lot of them.'_ His father stalked up to him, staring down at the boy who had been forced to his knees before raising his hand and slapping him viciously.

"Don't you talk back to me, cur. Neither of you are the same as me."

"And I thank our mother with all my heart for that!" Doflamingo spit at the man's feet. He was driving himself further and further into a corner. It would hurt, and he dreaded the moment when the _education_ would begin, but as long as Dominica got away, then it would be alright. He could endure, no, he _would _endure.

"You-"

"Father!" Both the boy and man turned swiftly towards the exit, staring at a quiet and calm Dominica watching them. Her eyes, dull teal with only a slight hint of fire left in them, moved from her brother to her father. She swallowed her anxiousness, though only her brother noticed and knelt to the floor, bowing low.

"I'm very sorry for my actions. Nothing I say can right what wrong I did and I am ready to face the consequences. Please let my brother off with a warning." He hated the sight of her bowing to these people as she was now, apologizing for something not worth apologizing for. He hated seeing her so obedient, like a worthless _dog_. He hated it, he wanted them to change roles. He wanted to drive a dagger into the man's throat, and scream at him in his final moments that he was nothing but a useless bag of flesh and bones and that no one would miss him, no one would mourn his passing, that he was now nothing more than a common man with the grim reaper at his heels. But he couldn't, because he had no weapon on him and he was held down. And what would he do after the deed was done? His uncle and cousins would have the both of them killed off after that.

Their father spared him not another glance. Instead he marched towards Dominica and reached out towards her.

"Don't touch her!" Doflamingo shouted, and he hated himself for how helpless and afraid he sounded. The noble grabbed Dominica's neat braid, fingers fisting into the long locks as he viciously tugged her up before dragging her out of the room. Her hands flew to the base of her braid and held on, desperately trying to ease the pain and pressure, but it was to no avail.

"Dominica!" He cried out as she was pulled over the doorstep. He could vaguely see his cousin smirking from the corner of his eyes but he did not give a damn. He kept calling his sister's name, and the whimper which left her lips did not go unnoticed by anyone in the room. He never noticed that he had started struggling again, but he realized quickly that he was slowly moving towards the door, the guards not strong enough to hold him back.

He could do it. He could reach her, he could save her. He had to!

Then the doors swung shut and he was left in the dining room with their guests and the guards still holding him.

"_Dominica!" _


	4. Chapter 4

**One Piece and its characters belong to Eiichiro Oda. ****Dominica belongs to me.**

* * *

He had burned them. She had been held by the guards, and after a thorough beating he had burned all of her most precious possessions. The things given to her by Doflamingo in secret. She had hid them so well, those treasures of hers, hoping that their father would never find them, for she knew what he would do with them and she would never risk it. Now her fears had been realized and she felt what little fight she had left in herself die away.

Her books, her precious medical books.

What would Doflamingo say when he saw it? That medium sized pile of still hot ashes outside her window? When he came to comfort her, for he would, he always did, he would see it and question her. And she would break, she could not lie to him. What she had just experienced proved what she had feared for so long. She was an open book which words could not deceive the reader, her twin the least of all. She glanced at the pile of still smoking ashes outside and swallowed the bitter tears. Her father had probably known from the beginning, but chosen to let her hold on to them, just waiting for a chance where he could utterly crush her spirit as he had done now. What fight she had kept in her was gone now. She was tired and sad and just wanted to be done with this place. She wanted to leave, or die. She didn't know which was better at that point.

"Dominica!" She startled out of her dark thoughts and stared down at a worried looking Doflamingo, who was kneeling in front of her. He searched her eyes for that hint of fire he had so desperately tried to keep going, but found it to be non-existent. She stared right back, not knowing what to say, how to begin. She wanted to apologize for being naïve, for believing that one day she could become the doctor she dreamed of becoming, for believing that everything would work when they grew old enough. She had to apologize to him for not being a good liar, for not being able to hide the books which he had risked a lot to find and give to her. But she did not know where to begin, she did not know how to phrase her words without angering him. She didn't want him to hate her, she didn't want him to think of her as a burden. She didn't want him to turn into their father!

"Nica?" And the dam broke. The words gushed out of her mouth, her tongue twisting itself too many times as her sight turned blurry.

"He-he burned them, Doffy!" She exclaimed and her throat constricted. "He burned them, all the books, I'm so sorry, I couldn't stop him. He found them and I couldn't do anything, my body hurt, he beat me up and I wasn't strong enough, I-I… I…" He frowned at her and the fear she felt gave her pause before she lurched back, yanking her hands out of his gentle hold and crawled back until her back with the wall. There was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide and she curled in on herself.

"Don't hate me." The whisper came out so pathetically broken and weak she almost resented herself. The tears kept on coming, and the burning in her throat was too much. Soon she sobbed loudly and while she did not notice it, Doflamingo looked almost relieved. To him, seeing her actually cry again was a kindness in itself, even if it was a twisted one. He knew she was still Dominica, that she was still there, that she had not retreated to the farthest corners of her mind, simply existing instead of living.

He crawled onto the bed and up to her, grabbing her shoulders and pulling her into a hug.

"Idiot." He said quietly. "As if I'd ever hate you. No matter what happens, I could never hate you." She sniffed, trying to calm herself as she looked up at him, searching for any trace of deception but found none. She should have known better. It stung him to know that she thought he could hate her for something like this.

"Don't worry about the books. I'll get you new ones, no problem." He soothed her, rocking them back and forth.

"It's just books, after all. It was harder to smuggle in those sweets we tasted back on Sabaody." He joked and she giggled. Watching her laugh, even if it was a low, hesitant sound, made him feel better too. Her eyes were still dull though, and that was something that made him feel bad again. How could he ever bring that light back to life? As long as they stayed here, no matter how hard he tried to light that fire that had burned fiercely in her when they were younger, their father would just find another way to snuff it out. They were mere tools to him, and once they came of age there was no escape. Dominica would be married off to another noble, maybe one of their cousins and he… Well he had no idea where he would end up, all he did know was that he would not be by Dominica's side anymore and that itself was wrong.

They had been together from the very beginning. They couldn't be separated, they belonged together.

"Hey, Dominica…" She glanced up, seeing him stare into space, eyes locked onto a far-away horizon she could not perceive with her own eyes. "Whenever we sail to Sabaody, what do you feel?"

She frowned, recalling all the times they went to Sabaody, watching everyone fall to their knees and bury their heads in the mud as they walked by, feeling the resentment and fear from the poor people who could be in danger if they lifted their heads too fast. She remembered the distraught faces of the slaves in the auction houses, eyes fearfully darting between the nobles who yelled different sums of money they would pay for the _quality _of their worth, as if they were slabs of meat. She wondered how it felt, being on those stages, staring at the nobles. What did the slaves see? Did they see humans, or monsters?

She saw monsters.

Dominica buried her face in her brother's chest, closing her eyes tightly.

"Disgusted." He blinked and looked down at her. "No, I meant, what do you feel when we're on the ship?" They had always kept the same mindset, they almost always felt the same way about things, they had always stood together. If they were separated because of a prank they pulled when they were younger they would feel bad until they reunited again. If one was sick the other would feel it, they were so tightly bound together and he never wanted it to end. This time it took a while before she answered. She sifted through her memories, trying to recall all the sensations, the emotions, the sights before she looked up again. A grin stretched across his face as he saw her teal eyes shine with excitement.

"Free. I felt good!"

"Me too!" The excitement the two felt, shared, was incredible. Finally, there was something else in their life which was good except for their bond.

"Let's get out of here!" Doflamingo blurted out in his excitement. If he and Dominica could get away, if they could get on a ship and sail away from the mansion, away from all the bad memories, away from their _father_ then maybe, maybe his little sister would smile more. It was a chance he was more than willing to take.

"Let's find a ship, let's get out of here and sail the seas!" She blinked up at him, a smile growing rather quickly on her face before it slipped and she looked down.

"What is it?" He asked worriedly, afraid she wouldn't take him up on the offer. He wanted to leave, he knew she wanted to leave too, but maybe she was too afraid to make the move, to take a leap of faith and the gods knew he couldn't abandon her.

"I… I want to be a doctor, Doffy. How can I do that if we sail around the world? I wouldn't be able to study-"

"We'll become pirates! I'll be the captain and you'll be the doctor!" He was desperate in his attempt to convince her and it could be heard in his voice, the way it cracked at the end.

"I told you, I'll buy you new books so you can study all the time. You'll be the greatest doctor there is, I promise you! Become the doctor on my ship, Nica, we can do this!" She still seemed so unsure, so afraid and he threw up the last few words he hoped she would cave in to.

"We'll be free! Really free!"

"Pirates aren't exactly good people…"

"Nobles are worse." She could not argue against that. It was true indeed. She had heard of the pirates out on the sea being vicious and dangerous, but then again, staying where they were now wasn't exactly safe either. And if they could really be free, free to do what they wanted, free to study medicine… She glanced up at her brother again studied him. She had always wanted to study medicine and Doflamingo had smuggled in the books she needed and wanted. What had she given in return, except love and devotion?

Nothing.

She had given him absolutely nothing in return and it made her feel bad. If their father found out that it was Doflamingo who had smuggled it in, instead of believing a random slave or servant having misplaced the books so she easily could have taken them, he would be severely punished. She did not want that.

So, she could become a pirate doctor for his sake, right?

"Okay… Okay, I'm in!" She said and he smiled widely. They had taken a small step together, but he would make sure that it would be a huge leap before any of them reached the age of adulthood, where they would be considered true nobles. It would take time, he was not so naïve to believe that he could achieve everything overnight. It would take months, years even, but he would have his ship and crew, and he would have his doctor and they _would_ leave. There was nothing that could stop them now, not when he had made up his mind.

"Hey, Nica." She pulled away from him when he suddenly seemed to become a lot more serious than happy."You'll need to stop calling me Doffy when that time comes, though." He told her and his heart soared at the sight of the mischievous grin which had planted itself on her face.

"Never!"


	5. Chapter 5

**One Piece and its characters belong to Eiichiro Oda. ****Dominica belongs to me.**

* * *

It took Doflamingo days to get word to his contacts, and then it took him another week to _persuade _them into helping him. A lot of money was invested into his plan, most of it was his own, but when his own pockets ran dry he took what he needed from his father's vault. The world noble never noticed his money disappearing anyway. He had far too much of it to be bothered to count it himself, and the slave in charge of the job dared not tell his master that the money were disappearing. If he did tell his master, then it was the slave who would be punished because he let it happen and did not know who it was who was stealing from the man. Doflamingo was taking full advantage of the fact. He could care less about the slave's condition as long as he and Dominica got away. That was one thing he was actually thankful for learning from his father. He felt no compassion towards anyone but Dominica and a few of his contacts on Sabaody.

The slaves who did not dare stand up against the world nobles were of no use to him. Those who dared to stand up to them, even if it was in the shadows, were on his good graces. Those were people he _could_ trust. Well, some of them at least. Those he could not trust or use was nothing more than trash to him and he had enough on his plate without the _poor_ slaves edging at the end of his conscience. They should have been more careful not to get caught and turned into slaves in the first place.

Well, that was what he thought anyway.

It was the one thing his father taught him that he held on to. It was the only thing useful anyway. Sure, Doflamingo would have liked all the money in the mansion so he could buy Dominica whatever she needed and live in true luxury, but that unfortunately included him being a part of the world nobles, and that was out of the question.

No, the ocean was where he and Dominica should be. Making their own fortune, hone their own skills. He would be a captain, he would make his own place on the sea and crush everyone who dared stand up against him. He would make his way to the top with his own power and make sure no one could mistreat him and Dominica ever again.

Dominica had said many times that she had wanted a _real _family, people she could love and trust and be with forever. At first he had been put off, wondering if he was not enough, but realized quickly that she was simply lonely and worried about him too. He had been acting strange recently, lashing out at slaves and guards the way his father usually did. He hadn't meant to become like the very man he despised the most in the world. He was simply stressed. His contacts had said it could take them years to get everything ready, and he knew they were bullshitting him. They just wanted more money, which he did have, but he did not have enough time to wait for them to finish his order in a couple of years.

The bastard who was his father could find it in himself to marry off his sister at any moment's notice. The girl had begun to fill out already and she would definitively be married off before she came of age.

What Doflamingo hated the most was that the likelihood of Dominica being married off to one of their cousins was too big. He hated the thought, no, he couldn't stand the thought, they had to escape before it happened. And so he spent the next two years trading money, supplies and information, getting his hands on the very best within medical equipment for Dominica, smuggling themselves in and out of Mariejois, for him to learn how to properly trade both supplies and blows with pirates and other criminals and for her to study medicine and procedure as much as possible. She could read all she wanted, but she still needed real experience, real practice. So he snuck her into hospitals, disguised her as assistant nurses and surgeons for years until she was as lethal with a scalpel as she was a life-saver.

Things progressed rather well and quickly. It was almost too good to be true, but only a few months after they turned sixteen he heard the news.

Dominica was betrothed to their cousin, Roswald.

That was a big fucking no in his book.

And only moments after he was informed he had stormed his father's office, slammed his hands on the desk and told him exactly what he thought about this _oh so brilliant_ plan of marrying his sister off. It had escalated from an furious argument to a fight and while Doflamingo could hold his own for a while he had not anticipated having his father aim his gun at him.

He should have known it would happen, but he had lost all rationality in his anger and lashed out, only to get shot in response. Well, it had not been a serious wound. Since he had been so close he had managed to screw up the man's aim and the bullet had only nicked him in the side, but the shock of having a bullet graze him still gave him pause, and his father shoved him to the ground. Doflamingo was used to fists, to be slammed into the wall or be hit with whatever his father had within reach, but being shot at was new. A shock of fear passed through him and froze him to the ground. His father, all purple rage and sputtering, glared at him viciously. He aimed the gun at him again, barely restraining him enough to speak again.

"I should have done this the day you were born, cur!" Doflamingo realized he had screwed up when he stared up at the golden barrel. His father's face had twisted into a deranged snarl he had never seen before and to the boy's frustration and humiliation it frightened him. He did not want to die. He was of course, like any other, afraid to die, but what aggravated him the most was that if he died, he would leave Dominica. She would be all alone, married off to the idiot he was forced to call cousin. Everything he had done since their mother died, his plan for their escape, their training and all their preparation would have been for nothing.

"Doflamingo!" Then she was there, long wavy hair loose and trailing behind her as she ran forward, teal eyes narrowed as she pushed her father's arm up in the air. The bullet hit the chandelier above them and the room lost all light as the giant lamp fell to the ground, shattering into thousands of sharp pieces of glass. The teen could not see anything, but he could certainly feel the glass raining on him and he could hear a hitched gasp as something flashed in the dark.

"Rot in hell, goddamn Tenryuubito." Dominica's voice could be heard right before the sound of tearing flesh echoed faintly, followed by a wet gurgle.

_Thump_

Something wet and warm moved past the boy's fingertips and he lifted his hand. He could not clearly see anything yet, but he was not unaccustomed to the feeling of blood on his hands. He was just not used to it being his father's blood, not his own.

Not Dominica's…

Anger and hatred swelled up in him at the thought of her beaten and bloodied form which he had to tend to as often as she tended to him before hands grabbed at him. Not thick, rough fingers but lithe and tiny ones. They ghosted over his side, gently probing the nick in his side. Now his sister was close enough that Doflamingo could see her face and no emotion other than worry was to be seen on her face as she tried to examine him… which was wrong, very wrong.

Doflamingo was no physician, nor a psychologist, but he was intelligent enough to realize that Dominica's action should have resulted in some psychological damage. He pushed her hands away from his wound, insisting that he was fine, that it was just a scratch that she needn't worry about as he examined her. She did not tremble, her eyes were not wide in shock as realization dawned on her of what she had done, no words of regret.

"Are _you_ okay?" He asked and she furrowed her brows at him.

"_You're _the one who got shot!" A physical wound, a mere nick of his flesh. He would recover with no lasting damage, but what she had done was something far, far worse. Despite their father being an abusive asshole, her killing him should have left some psychological imprint on her. Yet she seemed perfectly fine, and for some reason, he was not worried either. He could care less about the chunk of meat behind his sister. His only regret was that it was Dominica who had killed the bastard and not himself.

He felt… cheated.

"_What is the meaning of this?_" The two teens turned sharply towards the door, where their uncle stood, golden gun in his hands, which he soon aimed at the two. With speed and precision he did not know he possessed, the boy grabbed the scalpel in Dominica's hand and threw it, watching as it dug deep into the man's throat.

Huh, suddenly he did not feel so cheated anymore.

And he felt good too. Was this what Dominica was experiencing? No regrets, not worried or cold or afraid at all, only excited? He liked it. He needed more, but not here. Their first priority was getting out of the mansion and away with their lives, and they had to go right now. The ship was ready, the supplies were loaded, the preparation having begun the moment he learned of the betrothal, there was no reason to wait anymore. There was nothing holding them back.

But then again, their reason for staying had been buried many years ago.


	6. Chapter 6

I would really like some feedback on this chapter. I would like to know what you think about the characters at this moment.

**One Piece and its characters belong to Eiichiro Oda. ****Dominica belongs to me.**

* * *

Sailing on the open seas, feeling the wind caress her face and listen to the seagulls calling their friends above her, was what Dominica loved the most about being a pirate. Being the doctor in the crew led by her brother was an added bonus.

Being free of that wretched blood in her veins was pretty great too.

Despite her brother thinking it was a stupid idea, she kept count of everything he had done for her and swore that she would pay him back. He told her that all he wanted from her was her staying by his side until the end. She was not the naïve little girl who had immersed herself in medical studies back at the mansion, she knew what it entailed to be a pirate, what it meant for her to stay with Doflamingo.

And she enjoyed every minute of it.

She had killed, dismembered and tortured people. Innocent people, marine soldiers and pirates alike. Doflamingo was not one for savage barbarism, but he had no problems showing that he was the one in control and no matter how much their victims begged for mercy, if they had overstepped their bounds then they would be cut down. Dominica had even experimented on some men, listened to their screams of agony, watching as tears leaked from their eyes as they in the end begged to be set free.

Begged to die.

And die they did, once she grew bored with them.

Never did she feel any regret and neither did Doflamingo ever stop her because of her being inhuman during those moments. This was something that many would see as wrong, as disturbing. The girl just reasoned with herself that it was because of her upbringing, of being beaten by her own father, watching slaves being punished and killed on a daily basis, that she felt no compassion towards their victims. Making others suffer was a part of human nature, she reasoned, and left it at that.

The crew, made up by useful and trustworthy people of all ages, also had nothing against the twins being so cruel. The two valued their comrades, and their mindset was that the crew was a family, a family the two had been deprived of their whole lives.

And Dominica loved them almost as much as she loved Doflamingo.

She had been surprised at first when she recognized the feeling, having believed that she could trust and love no other person than the brother who had been by her side since the day they came kicking and screaming into the world. Now she had learned to cherish it. None in the crew may be wronged, may be hurt, without her getting bloody revenge for it. And she would enjoy it to the very end, until the perpetrator had drawn their last breath.

Only half a year after they escaped Mariejois, they encountered another pirate ship, whose captain and crew would not let them pass without a fight. The crew was not particularly powerful, but Doflamingo was new to being a pirate captain and therefore they struggled a bit because of his orders, but in the end Dominica managed to drag the enemy captain to her brother's feet, leaving the man's fate in her captain's hands while the rest of them rummaged through the ship for loot. Vergo, the firstmate, had led the group through the ship, to grab everything they needed and wanted, while Dominica had taken Sugar, a girl who had eaten a Devil Fruit which made her appear as a little girl, with her to rummage through the sick bay of the ship. She had been delighted to find all sorts of medicine and books she had not come across before and threw it all in a bag before heading back towards their own ship. On the way though, the girl stopped and handed her bag to one of the crewmembers before heading inside the captain quarters of the enemy ship. She had never been in another pirate ship's captain quarters and scoffed at the sight.

It was not as grand as Doflamingo's quarters, papers scattered everywhere, the curtains full of holes and dust covered, the desk and chair worn and cheap looking.

"Fufu, this place is nothing special." Dominica glanced over her shoulder and grinned at Monet. "I was just curious, as to whether it looked as good as ours." She said before walking over to the desk and looking through the drawers on the desk. For all she knew, the enemy captain could have had hidden treasure maps or something else of value she could want to keep for herself or give as a gift to anyone in the crew. She was disappointed to find out that the captain had nothing of true value and she kicked the desk in irritation.

"Stupid weakling." She grunted and moved to walk around the desk when her foot caught onto something and she stumbled forward, managing to catch her balance by clumsily grabbing at the desk. Monet brought her hand up to her face to try and stifle the chuckle with left her and Dominica shot her a glare.

"Shut up." She said and ducked down to see what she had stumbled over, only to find a tiny chest. It seemed a lot more valuable than anything else in the office and she pulled it out, lifting it up and opening it. Monet walked over to the doctor, curious as to what was in the chest as well. Both girls eyes widened in shock. Never in their wildest dreams had they thought a weak crew like this would have such a treasure hidden away.

"Doflamingo needs to see this!" Dominica said and shut the chest as Monent nodded. The two of them hurried out of the captain's quarters and hurried back to their own ship, jumping aboard just as their captain was about to announce the sentence of the enemy crew.

"Captain!" Dominica halted him and walked up to stand beside him, handing him the chest. "For you." As he accepted the chest as leaned against him, shoulder against his arm as she crossed her own across her chest, grinning up at him as she knew his eyes widened behind the sunglasses he wore. He whistled before a smirk grazed his features.

"Quite a find, doctor."

"Thank you, captain." She grinned up at him as he wrapped one arm around her, squeezing her shoulder in thanks. His hands was so big he could hold the chest with just one without difficulty.

"That's mine!" The enemy captain snarled. "Your whore had no right to take it!" Immediately his head was yanked back as Vergo kept a tight grip on his hair.

"Apologize to the good doctor." He said calmly, but the enemy only glared up at him. Doflamingo though, had stiffened up beside Dominica before closing the lid and handing it over to Sugar, telling her to hold onto it for him. Another crew may have felt that their captain did not trust them with the content of the chest, but not the Donquixote pirates. Dominica straightened up as Doflamingo ambled towards the other captain, pulling out a dagger and holding it up to the man's neck.

"The girl is my younger sister, old man. Insulting her like that is the last thing you'll ever do." And with that he pulled back slightly, only to slice in an upwards motion, the dagger digging into flesh from chin to forehead, taking the enemy pirate's left eye with it. The bloodcurdling scream the pirate released caused the Donquixote pirates to laugh loudly, mockingly.

"We've got no use for them. Kill them and throw them into the ocean." Doflamingo said with a shrug, wiping the blood off his dagger on the whimpering pirate's shirt.

"Wait a moment brother." Dominica cut in. She saw a chance and she would not let it go so easily. "Spare some of them. I'm all out of playmates."

"Alright." Her twin agreed, an ominous smirk grazing his features as he turned his back on the remnants of the enemy crew. "Take three of them and chain them up." He paused before adding that he wanted the enemy captain treated so that he would not die of an infection. He had plans for the man.

"Thanks." The pirate doctor stood up on her tip-toes and kissed her brother's cheek before pointing out which men she would want spared for her entertainment later. Those three men and the captain were not sure if they had been showed mercy or not. The three who would become Dominica's playthings were not exactly sure what she would want with them, but they knew what they saw. They saw a pretty pirate girl dressed in nothing but a pair of shorts, a bikini top and a red, flamboyant coat with white spots all over it. They saw a girl who stood suspiciously close to another one with green hair and whose tongue danced across her lips as they watched the men being hauled up on their feet. For a moment the three men thought that they would get something out of being prisoners, something which might make it a bit worth it.

They obviously did not know the Donquixote twins and their crew.

**TFD**

Doflamingo had never been one to rob his little sister of her fun, and while he enjoyed listening to people scream in pain and fear and beg for mercy where there was none to be found, he _was _tired after a day which had seemed almost endless. What he could draw a chuckle from though, was the expression on the first of their captives to be taken out from the cells on the bottom of the ship. He had seemed to have no qualms about being taken to Dominica by Monet and had followed her like a lovesick puppy. His comrades had seemed to be either indifferent or maybe a tad bit jealous, but that was only until the screams began to echo all over the pirate ship.

They had paled considerably and had, to his amusement, begun to tremble. They had asked what was going on up where ever their friend had been taken and he had grinned, stating that Dominica was playing games with him.

"What kind of games?" It seemed as if the prisoner had regretted his question the moment he had asked.

"She likes playing doctor."

"Ain't… Ain't she the ship's doctor?" Doflamingo's grin widened, malicious and disturbing. "She's self-taught."

The statement made it almost sound like Dominica was a terrible doctor, but in truth she was excellent. She was nothing short of a genius and he had cultivated that mind, given her everything she might need, given her a tutor, a teacher and he had kept her happy.

He had kept her his.

But as much as it made him feel good that she was enjoying herself, she had to take a break. He actually wanted to get in some sleep, and listening to screaming all night, as fun as it sounded, was not helping him in the slightest. With a grunt he threw the covers off of himself and stalked out of his quarters, heading towards the infirmary with heavy footsteps. He slammed the door open and watched, undaunted, as Dominica did not look up from her work, but continued to trace her scalpel over the man's arm.

"Nica, dear, we need to talk."

"Alright." Still she did not look up, she merely continued to drag the edge of the scalpel over the flesh of her _patient. _

"Are you listening?"

"I know how to multitask." She replied and he facepalmed himself. Considering the sleep-deprived state she was in, and how engrossed she was with her subject, she would not even hear half of what he was saying, and that would simply not do. She may be his little sister, but he was the captain, and he wanted sleep. He held out a hand and flicked one finger down. She immediately froze in her seat, though it was evident from her twitching limbs that she was trying to move.

"What's this?"

"It's called having eaten a convenient Devil Fruit." Doflamingo smirked as he forced her to turn around, and thus revealing what she had been doing with her subject.

"… Were you marking him?" He glanced at the upper torso of the man, filled with several tiny and distorted versions of the Navy's mark. Some were deep, some were shallow, but they were all bleeding and she had by no means been very careful or gentle about it either.

"I've no more use for him. He's boring me now." Sometimes Dominica could be so insanely cruel even Doflamingo almost took pause, but only almost, because in all honesty, he did not care much for anyone outside of the crew and could care less how they suffered in life. People were used and discarded the moment they had outlived their usefulness. It did not matter if you were a pirate, a marine soldier, a civilian or even a noble. Once there was no need for said person, they were thrown away. After having been played with by Dominica though, it would be a mercy to be killed off. This man had lost three fingers on his right hand, all three nubs had been neatly sewed together though, so the man would not bleed to death or catch an infection, but he doubted she had given the man anything to numb the pain. He was also missing most of his left leg, all the way up to his mid-thigh and he had lost both of his ears. At very end Doflamingo noticed that his right eye was sewed shut as well.

"No wonder he was screaming." The captain said as he inspected the poor man. "You weren't exactly being very careful."

"Nah, I think he's screaming because he's missing his eye." She glanced upwards, still unable to move yet completely calm, and Doflamingo looked up too.

"Wow… Such wow." Above the table where the man lay, connected to a rope a glass jar filled with liquid hung above the man, just out of reach. Well, it was out of reach anyway, since Dominica had the man strapped to the table, but still.

"You're cruel, hun." In the jar, the man's missing eye was, staring emptily out into space.

"Nothing less than what the fucktard deserved." She replied with a roll of her eyes.

"What did he do?" Doflamingo was honestly curious as to what had warranted such torment from his sister.

"Said our crew was a bunch of weirdo's. Spouted shit about selling those he could as slaves to nobles and that when he escaped he would take Sugar with him, because she's his type." Doflamingo frowned. He did not like the thought of his crew being sold off to nobles. He did not like the thought of him and Dominica ever returning to the nobles either and Sugar… Sugar seemed, to anyone who did not know her, to be just a little girl. If Sugar was _his type_, then this guy was sick.

Almost like their old man.

No wonder Dominica fucked him up.

"I was wondering about sewing his mouth shut next, or maybe flaying him. I got enough drugs here to keep him alive and awake for as long as I want him to." The victim visibly trembled on the table, both from fear and pain, his one remaining eye moving rapidly, looking around the room, desperately searching for something until they landed on the young captain. Doflamingo though, felt no sympathy for the man. Instead he released Dominica from his strings and leaned over the man.

"Threatening our family was a stupid move, buddy. You aren't getting out of this so easy now." But while he really did want to watch how it ended right then and there because of this moron who dared speak ill of his crew, he was also still very tired, and the bags and dark circles framing his sister's eyes told him that she was too.

"You can play more tomorrow." He said and she pouted before nodding, hand moving to the end of the table where a thin blanket lay. She pulled it up to her victim's chin, patting his cheeks and smiling innocently at him.

"We wouldn't want you to freeze, now would we?" She chuckled and left the infirmary, ignoring the man's whimpers. The cold was the least of his worries.

They walked in silence from the infirmary to the captain's quarters. It was by no means awkward, they just respected the fact that their comrades were sleeping as well and the two of them were rather tired themselves. Dominica only noticed when she left the infirmary how heavy her limbs felt and how her eyes just closed themselves every now and then. Once they were both in they just collapsed onto Doflamingo's bed, the captain stretching out while Dominica curled up beside him.

This was something that had not changed. They still slept in the same bed together.

Many would have thought it weird and also found it suspicious, but the crew had grown to accept it.

The twins were just close attached to each other and were not at all embarrassed about showing it.


	7. Chapter 7

As I write this chapter, I find myself rewriting everything I've written of the last part of the trilogy as well. And I find myself enjoying this once more. Hurray!

And I know Sugar is 22 in the canon, but I only realized that _after _I wrote the previous chapter, so yeah.. sorry, guys. I don't want to change it.

A new drawing of Dominica's been made as well, for part two of the trilogy. It's on my profile, thank you ChriComplex!

**One Piece and its characters belong to Eiichiro Oda. ****Dominica belongs to me.**

* * *

Gold Roger was dead and to the Donquixote crew's enjoyment their captain announced that he aimed to take over the role as the Pirate King, but he had other plans than just going straight towards the last island of the Grand Line like every other pirate. He was no fool, he knew there were people out there stronger than him. No, he aimed for a different path to reach the title. He would amass power, influence, contacts and experience and claim the title when he had managed to collect all of these things.

Not to mention, money.

Money was important in the world they lived in.

And the more you had, the more important you became. He knew this well and he was going to take full advantage of it. There were many ways to make money; raiding islands or merchant ships and pirate ships alike, not to mention weapon and slave trade was also rather well paid occupations. There was always someone who needed weapons, and nobles bought slaves left and right.

So many possibilities and so much time.

But how to make it all work, how make it all profit him the way he wanted, instead of backfiring on him?

Trial and error. Doflamingo was used to success and was at first put off by their first few failures. Trying to talk people into working for them did not work, bribing them was not always as profitable as he had hoped. Threats were usually effective, but there were some who had too much pride or foolish courage to let themselves be used. And the Donquixote pirates was a rather new crew, thus they were not as well-known as they should have been when they started out. The cruel and uncompassionate Donquixote twins had not shown the world the range of their madness and that was something that had to be corrected.

They had returned to Sabaody, where Doflamingo had established a connection with the underworld even before he and Dominica escaped their former home, and the young captain hoped to attain success on the archipelago while they were there, as he had before. While they were there, he left two on the ship to keep watch, had Vergo, Trebol and Diamante follow him and gave the rest of the crew free reign to gather supplies and do whatever they wanted.

Dominica grabbed a hold of Sugar and young Monet, telling them to help her carry whatever medical supplies she needed on the ship. There were a lot of marines on the island, and while the girls weren't exactly feeling threatened by their presence, their captain had told them that they were not to cause unnecessary trouble. Sabaody was too close to the Marine Headquarters. As the three were walking around in the lawless zone where there were less marines than the rest of the archipelago, they witnessed the terrible living conditions the people had. There had been more than one occasion where Dominica had pulled a scalpel out of her coat-pocket and sliced the tendons on the perpetrator's fingers. Those who had watched deemed it wise to leave the three be after a while, realizing that the blonde had keen eyes and a deadly precision with her tool.

A pick-pocket's life depended on their hands, and they would rather not lose the ability to use the limb they needed to survive.

"Fucking pick-pockets." Dominica grumbled, stuffing her hands in her pockets as she stalked around the lawless zone. "There's nothing to do here!" She complained. No shops which held anything interesting and she had been ordered to keep out of trouble so she couldn't pick a fight with anyone and there was no use in returning to the ship, since her last two playmates were dead too. Doflamingo had killed them off using their captain as a puppet. He had used the captain as a guinea pig as he trained to understand the powers he gained from the fruit he ate, which was why he had already such an adept control of his powers.

And once his adorable little sister had grown tired of her _playmates_, he had used the enemy captain as a puppet and killed them off. It had been a rather amusing sight for the both of them, watching the enemy captain cry out in both pain and outrage as he killed his former subordinates who had screamed in fright, wondering why the man they had followed and trusted suddenly tried to kill them.

Oh how the man had cursed them, how he had sworn that he would get his revenge. Doflamingo had been in such a good mood he had actually given the man a rowboat and wished him luck on his quest. The dumbfounded expression on the man's face had been hilarious. The memory still brought a chuckle to Dominica's lips.

"What's so funny?" Sugar asked, reaching up towards Dominica's bag. It was hard for the short girl to reach the bag, since the pirate doctor was 6 feet and 9 inches. Dominica raised an eyebrow before she lifted the strap over her head and held it out for the girl to take. She was rewarded with a radiant smile before the aquamarine haired girl ruffled through her bag in search of sweets. Then she noticed a fruit stand and stopped, thinking for a bit before looking around and finding a bench they could sit on.

"How about a snack, hm?" She asked the other two and Sugar nodded enthusiastically while Monet merely smiled. Dominica took back her bag and watched as Monet led Sugar by the hand to the bench before walking over to the stand. Monet was a big mystery. While it was no doubt that she was fully devoted to the crew and captain, Dominica kind of found it sad that a ten year old and fourteen year old girl had joined a pirate crew. While it made it an interesting crew it was kind of sad because they were just children.

She and Doflamingo had not been much older but… She shook her head vehemently then. She was trying to explain something which needed no explanation. If people chose to become pirates then they chose to become pirates. The reason for why they came to this choice was important, but their pasts were a useless piece of information best left alone. Dominica knew she and Doflamingo had no use for their past. The present and future was what mattered the most.

"These any good, Mr. Merchant?" She asked as she picked a few grapes, inspecting them with narrowed eyes. "Because if those two get stomach aches from this, I'm going to pay you a visit." She flicked her thumb and her sword unsheathed a fraction, the sharp blade gleaming in the sunlight. The merchant swallowed, but nodded nonetheless.

"Freshly picked." He replied and held one out. "Have a taste." She popped it into her mouth and chewed slowly before swallowing. She waited a moment before nodding.

"Give me a bag of those." The vendor hastily filled a bag, almost hesitant about asking for payment. This made Dominica believe that he was not often in the lawless district, selling his stock. Still, she handed him a couple of belies and gave him a final warning glare before leaving him behind. When she sat down beside the excited Sugar, she noticed how expectant the little girl's expression was. She opened the bag and pulled a grape out, holding it out for Sugar to take. The girl frowned, glancing up at the pirate doctor. Apparently she had anticipated sweets.

"What?"

"No sweets?"

"Grapes are good for you." Dominica said roughly and put it in the girl's hands. "Come on, eat up. Just look at Monet, she's eating them." Sugar looked up at the green haired girl who grinned teasingly down at her. Pursing her lips, Sugar held the grape up in front of her eyes, inspecting the fruit before popping it into her mouth.

"Well?" Dominica asked and Sugar swallowed. "It's… good." She said grudgingly and the pirate doctor laughed.

"Hah! Better than sweets, right?" Now while Sugar really thought the grapes tasted better than she had thought they would, her childish mind was not quite ready to give up the taste of sweets so to answer Dominica she shook her head.

"No, sweets are the best! I want sweets too!"

"You're getting grapes!" Dominica said sternly and pointedly ignored the teasing giggle coming from Monet. "The same goes for you!"

"I never said I had a problem with grapes." The fourteen year old said and popped another one into her mouth. Dominica grumbled to herself about stubborn kids and too cheeky teenagers. Still, despite claiming to want sweets instead of fruit, Sugar ate a lot more than Dominica thought she would and the bag was empty before they grew tired of the scenery around them. Sugar and Monet had never been on Sabaody Archipelago before and their curious minds wanted to explore. Dominica on the other hand, had seen more of Sabaody than she had wanted to, and proposed that they should return to the ship. She lost the argument the moment Sugar set wide, innocent eyes on her.

Never had the pirate doctor been very good at denying children anything, a weakness Sugar exploited regularly and something which always gave Monet and the rest of the crew a good laugh when they saw how the blonde struggled.

"Where'd Sugar go?" Monet said suddenly and Dominica paused in her steps. The girl had been right behind her, tugging at her bag not too long ago. She turned around, but didn't see the girl anywhere.

"Sugar?" She called, but could not see nor hear the girl reply. "Sugar!" She turned in every direction, worry filling her being. Sugar had a very peculiar Devil Fruit ability, but she was still just a child. She was still a ten year old. Monet was looking around frantically as well. They couldn't have just lost the girl, she had seen her right behind Dominica only moments before. Dominica paused when she saw shady looking men walking around with unconscious people in chains and cursed.

"Fuck!" Slavers. Sabaody was crawling with the little shits, and it was a good chance that Sugar had been taken by the bastards. But which ones? There were so many slaver groups, and many auction halls. And she had no idea when the auctions were to be held. She took a deep breath and counted the lawless zones in her head.

'_29 lawless zones, which means the auction houses can only be in these zones. Still too many zones for me and Monet to go through alone. Doflamingo is not going to be pleased.'_ And while she really wanted to believe that Sugar had just wandered off on her own she wasn't willing to risk it. The probability was too low when it concerned Sabaody.

"Fuck." She opened her bag and rummaged through it until she found her baby den den mushi.

"Who are you calling?"

"Doflamingo. Do me a favor, but be _careful _about it. Go ask people about the slave trades around here. Gather me some info." Maybe it was wrong to send the girl out to do something so dangerous, but Dominica did not have the time to wait around. Monet was agile and quick, and she was good at gathering information. She had, after all, betrayed the marine base on her home island, to the Donquixote pirates, which was one of the reasons she had been allowed to join.

And why the hell was her brother so slow in answering-

"_Yes?_"

"Vergo?! What are- oh fuck it. Is Doflamingo there?" By the urgency he detected in the doctor's voice, Vergo paused for a bit, knowing that something was very wrong. Dominica was not a person who'd feel stress very easily.

"_What's wrong?_"

"Is he there or not?!"

"_He's busy._" She grit her teeth. No matter what the man was doing this was more important. A member of their crew was missing.

"Sugar disappeared. One minute she was right behind me, the next she was gone! I can't find her, Vergo!"

"_Calm down, she can't have wandered off too far_-"

"We're in the lawless zone, Sugar is a little girl and there are slavers walking around me. _Don't you fucking tell me to calm down, Vergo!_" Again Vergo paused. She had all right to be worried because she was voicing a fair point. She had been careless and now one of their own might be in great danger.

"_What's going on?"_ Dominica heard Doflamingo in the background and waited impatiently, foot tapping the ground anxiously, as Vergo explained the situation. She thought they were taking too long, and that every moment wasted would only send their friend closer and closer to the greedy hands of the nobles. Those people cared for nothing else than satisfying themselves and their greed. Having a little girl who had stopped aging with the power of a Devil's Fruit was a perfect prize. Who else could boast about having a never aging slave? Monet returned then, brows furrowed and she seemed to be slightly out of breath, but she had returned without a scratch.

"_Dominica."_ Doflamingo's grave voice suddenly echoed from the snail. "_Do what you must to find her. The others will come shortly."_ Monet took the snail from the pirate doctor as she unsheathed her sword, dragging her tongue across the blade.

"Aye aye, captain." And the call was ended. Monet pocketed the snail in Dominica's bag and silently, with a clever grin, followed the older woman through the archipelago where she witnessed for the very first time just _how cruel_ Dominica could be. Every prisoner they had taken on their voyage whom she had experimented on were only unlucky because she prolonged the experience. If she had been as quick with them as the slavers they met on their hunt, Monet could with certainty say that they had been let off easy. And watching the doctor work excited her. It excited her to see how such big and strong men were reduced to whimpering chunks of meat on the ground, begging for mercy they would never show their own captives.

"I asked you a simple question." Dominica ground out as she broke the third finger from the right on the big man's hand, an action that caused him to shriek. "Cute little girl, sea colored hair, wears an animal themed jacket. Shouldn't be hard to remember."

"I don't know what you're talking about!" The ma wailed causing Dominica to roll her eyes. Monet had told her everything she had gathered on her little jog around the area they had been in and everything pointed to this very hideout in Zone 1. This man was wasting her time and she did not have the patience for this.

"Then you better turn into a psychic this very moment and find out, or else you'll find yourself with worse injuries than a few broken fingers and legs." Monet shuddered at the dangerous tone Dominica's voice was laced with. The very first thing the woman had done was kicking the man's knees. His kneecaps were bent inwards now, causing his legs to look like they had grown backwards. The poor bastard would probably never be able to heal properly in all this filth.

"Fourth finger." Dominica said and grabbed a hold of the digit, twisting. Another shriek, another shudder. The doctor spared the silently chuckling Monet a glance.

'_You're enjoying this, huh.'_ She would be lying if she said she didn't feel a tiny amount of pride for making a big man feel inferior, but now was not the time to indulge in such emotions. She needed and answer, and she needed it now. She was getting nowhere with this and sighed, easing her grip on the slaver.

"Monet, get out."

"What?" The girl was dumbfounded, clearly not expecting to be ordered to leave. "Why?"

"I need you to watch the door." She said and grabbed a hold of the man's collar, hoisting him up. The man whimpered as his legs twang with pain. "Make sure no one comes in." Monet had expected an expression of pure glee and madness on Dominica's face, yet she was rewarded with a cold, empty look. She felt disappointed, but nodded none-the-less and left the building, standing guard outside. She huffed and crossed her arms as she leaned her back against the wall. She wanted to see what the doctor was planning for her victim, she wanted to see the slaver completely loose his bearings and turn into a frightened man who knew that he was not strong, not in the right to sell people into slavery because he was too weak.

Then, after a few minutes, in which she thought about just entering again because nothing was happening, a scream echoed from the inside. Her eyes widened as she realized just how much fear and agony filled it. Dominica had apparently thrown away any pity she could have held for the man and was now ruthlessly torturing him until he told her what she wanted to know. A few of the ones who walked by paused for a moment, but Monet had regained her composure and was now confidently smirking at them all, daring them to come any closer. No more than twenty minutes could have passed when she saw two figures in the distance closing in on the building. She quickly recognized the eccentric swagger of her captain and grinned.

"Captain."

"Monet. Where's Dominica?" It was clear that he was at least a tiny bit peeved at having a crewmember taken by slavers by the way he was not taking the time for pleasantries. Another scream was heard and the girl nodded towards the door.

"Interrogating." She answered and Doflamingo moved towards the door, grabbing the door handle just before the door opened. They moved back, watching their doctor emerge from the darkness. Again Monet shuddered at the sight before her.

The arms of her coat had been rolled up, and the sleeves, as well as her arms were stained with blood. Her face also had bloodstains, the blood trickling down her face and neck, disappearing into the folds of her coat.

The expression on her face though, was what caught their attention the most though. An expression of mad glee, eyes wide with mad accomplishment, a sly grin spread out, stretching from one ear to the other.

"I know where to go." Was all she said and threw the bloody knife in her hand over her shoulder, slamming the door behind her before they could hear it land on the floor and successfully hiding the body inside from Monet's young eyes.

"Where?" Doflamingo asked as his little sister took the lead.

"An auction house in this very groove." The girl said, as her grin grew borderline maniacal. "How do you feel about visiting such an establishment again, brother dear?"


	8. Chapter 8

Reading chapter 762 of One Piece made me realize that the story I made for Law's background is nowhere sad enough for his character…

**One Piece and its characters belong to Eiichiro Oda. ****Dominica belongs to me.**

* * *

"Hand her over." She held the auctioneer frozen in place, not only by her sword, but also by her piercing teal eyes.

"Nica-san!" Sugar exclaimed happily, trotting up to the bars of her cell, chains jiggling with each movement.

"Sugar, darling, what have I said about walking off on your own?" The girl looked thoughtful for a moment before she answered in a cheery voice.

"Not to do it?"

"Exactly. Now, Mr. Bouncer, give me the keys. I'm in no mood to be trifled with." The auctioneer seemed terrified of her and her deceptively calm voice, but he was probably more afraid of the nobles back in the hall who wanted their slaves. So, instead of handing over the keys, he stood his ground, though his visibly trembling knees betrayed any mask of courage he could conjure up.

"You're not very smart, are you?" Doflamingo walked up to them, nodding to his little sister as a silent command for her to back off. She lowered the sword from the man's throat, but did not sheathe it. Instead, she walked over to the cell where Sugar was held captive, motioned for the girl to move back a bit and swung her sword twice. Three bars fell to the ground and Sugar jumped out with a grin, the chains bound to the shackles on her arms continuing to jiggle with every movement she made. The girl did not notice the doctor's eye twitch as she kneeled in front of her, pulling a pair of needles out of her bag.

"See? We're _kindly_ asking you for the keys to her collar, that's all. We can fix the rest ourselves." Doflamingo grinned widely. He was in complete control and he loved it. The bouncer was terrified, he had the power of his life in his hands and if the man did not do as he was told rather quickly it would be the end for him.

"The girl is rightfully ours to sell-" The man began but Doflamingo cut him off with a bark of laughter. "Slavery was ended centuries ago by the World Government. The only reason you're still in business is because the Navy turns a blind eye to it because of the greed of the nobles. And don't bother with thinking you'll get reinforcements any time soon. My crew's already surrounded this place." Finally the shackles around Sugar's hands fell to the floor with a loud clang. The doctor rubbed the little girl's wrists, furrowing her brows at the bruises, but the little girl herself just laughed and thanked the woman for removing the heavy metals.

"See, now that Sugar is free to use her powers again, you have three choices, really. One, either she turns you into her own little toy slave who'll do anything she tells you to." The man did not like the thought, and it showed on his face and the way he swallowed nervously. Never did he think that he himself could become a slave when he was selling them. A fate he bestowed others on a daily basis was apparently not something he wished on himself.

"Two, I could give you to my little sister there. She just lost her last two playmates and really wants a new one. I will tell you now, that is not a position you want to be in, if you aren't a masochist that is. She loves torture. That is how we found you, by the way." The auctioneer swallowed audibly as Dominica used her long tongue to lick her still bloodstained cheeks. It made him sick to watch.

"And the third option?" He squeaked out and this time Doflamingo grinned victoriously.

"Just give me the keys before I kill you. I'm not in the best of moods right now." He said as he grabbed the man's collar, lifting him up in the air as he readied his powers with his free hand.

"There is actually a fourth option." Dominica cut in, grabbing her brother's hand and slowly made him lower the terrified auctioneer. Once down she crouched in front of him, as his legs had turned to jelly and shown themselves to be unable to hold up his weight.

"Give us the keys, and work for my captain." Even Doflamingo had not expected this suggestion from his sister, but stayed silent, curious as to where this situation might now be going.

"W-work for… you people?"

"Your security here is shit. Four people, really? How are you still in business?" It was more of a rhetorical question but the man answered anyway.

"No one attacks auction halls. It's the only places you can sell your stock."

"Obviously this hasn't happened to you before, but now that it has, now that pirates have dared to attack this place to get back their comrade, what will you do if we let you live after finding the keys to her collar, hm? What if another gang does the same? What if they aren't as merciful as me and my brother here? What will you do then?" They had already given him their options, but he was so afraid he could barely think straight, Dominica surmised and ploughed on. Playing into people's fears was not something she had not done before, her _playmates_ were great material when it came to learn how to manipulate humans. Everyone feared something, you just had to find out what it was and use it.

"Work for us, and we'll protect this place. We'll provide you with a proper security and all we ask in return is the keys and a piece of the profit." He was slowly starting to think about their offer but he was taking too long for her taste. She was not particularly fond of the fact that Sugar had an exploding collar around her neck.

"Accept this fourth option and you can bypass the other three. Doesn't sound all that bad, hm? Become one of us, and we won't harm you." It took a few more minutes of coaxing before the man slowly grabbed Doflamingo's hand and shook it.

"I'll be counting on you." Doflamingo said smoothly, but there was no denying that his smirk widened as the man visibly flinched.

"Y-yes sir."

"Good. Now, where are those keys?"

**TFD**

"Sugar!" Monet grabbed the girl and hugged her so hard Sugar was almost crushed against her. "I was so worried for you!"

"Monet, I can't breathe." Sugar wheezed out before Monet pushed her away, ready to admonish her for running off on her own when Dominica walked past them.

"Don't do that again, Sugar." She said simply and walked ahead. The two girls stared after the doctor who was no doubt heading back to the ship before Sugar turned to look at Monet again.

"Is she mad at me?"

"She was just worried, darling." Doflamingo said as he patted her head. "She just doesn't want to admit it. Give her an hour or two." As her older brother, and also the one who got the most in trouble back when they lived in their old home, he was more than used to Dominica's attitude towards people who worried her. She would always hurry to fix that which was wrong and then she would sulk for a while before she forgave them.

Back on the ship Sugar realized that Dominica was a bit curt with her after the whole incident. Sugar may be a pirate of their crew, but she was also a ten year old girl, and therefore very naïve. But it was not like she had been running around or following people promising her candy. She had hidden a grape in the pocket of her jacket, saving it for later, but as they had walked it had fallen out of her pocket and she had run after it to catch it. When she turned around, her companions were already far ahead of her and when she moved to call out to them hands had grabbed at her.

"Doffy-sama, I didn't mean to scare her." Doflamingo looked down at the girl who was now clutching at his pant leg. He blinked his eyes behind his sunglasses.

"She's still sulking?" He scratched his cheek, not having expected his sister to be so childish. Out of the two of them, she was the mature one. "Where is she? I'll have a talk with her." Sugar's eyes widened and she let go of his pant leg, waving her arms.

"No, no, it's okay! You said she would be fine soon, I can wait!" She did not want to bother Dominica when the doctor was in a bad mood. She knew that her friend would never hurt her, but she still didn't want to make things worse than they already were. She had been on the ship for some time now, and knew that sometimes it was better to wait things out. Doflamingo could do nothing but chuckle as Sugar scurried off, latching onto Monet who had nothing better to do than to play with the little girl. He thought about talking to Dominica anyway, but tossed the thought away. She was probably in the infirmary, doing some _light_ reading to brighten her mood. He could talk to her later.

And he did. He had walked to his quarters, ready to retire for the evening, but upon entering his room he saw a lump beneath his sheets. He had stared for a few moments, before shaking his head. He really should not have been so surprised.

"You know, you do have your own quarters now. Why are you never using it?" He asked as he removed his coat, dropping it onto a chair before kicking off his shoes and pulling off his sunglasses.

"Don't wanna." His sister's voice was muffled, but he could clearly hear her, and he could hear that she was pouting. Or maybe he was feeling it because they were twins? He didn't really care, all he knew was that sometimes it was almost as if he knew what was going on with his little sister without even asking.

"Now you're just being childish." He laughed quietly as he pulled off his shirt.

"Am not."

"Start arguing like that, and you'll be proving me right." He teased and she grabbed the ends of the sheets and pulled them around her, completely cocooning herself. He blinked once more, merely staring as he brushed a hand through his hair.

"Are you seriously stealing my sheets?"

"They're mine. Yours are in the closet."

"We've been using yours all the time?" The cocoon moved, so he guessed she nodded so he dropped the matter. "Oh well, never mind. Hey, could you let go of the sheets, so I can slip in too?" No movement.

"You want me to freeze?" He tried with a voice laced with mock hurt. Again there was no response. "Alright, then I'll just get my own sheets from the closet-"

"Fine, take the fucking sheets!" Dominica growled as she threw it off of herself, turning her back to him and trying to cross her arms. He slid onto the bed, resting his back against the headboard and threw the sheets over the both of them, grinning at the back of her head.

"We'll share them, as we always have." She didn't say anything and neither did she move. She just lay there, staring at the wall in front of her, frowning deeper with every passing minute. Now this was not an expression he liked on his little sister's face, but he patiently waited for her to start talking. She did not. She just lay there glaring at the wall until he started to brush his hand through her hair. He sighed and let his head fall back against the headboard. He was tired, he wanted sleep, but he would rather avoid having Dominica in a foul mood the next day as well and something was troubling her. He was not an idiot though, he knew that Sugar had scared the doctor when she disappeared and got caught by slavers, but the girl was back on the ship, safe and sound, and Dominica had persuaded the auctioneer of the slave hall to work for them. With any luck that establishment would make quite the profit.

He _knew _it would bring profit, just as well as Dominica. They knew firsthand how greedy the nobles were.

"I get nightmares."

"Hm?" She had finally spoken, but that was not exactly what he had expected her to say.

"If I sleep alone, I get nightmares." She said, sitting up. "I don't like nightmares, obviously." She gestured to the sheets on the bed and he laughed, loudly. She, however, did not find it amusing at all.

"It's not funny!" She exclaimed angrily. "If I sleep by myself I dream that we go back to that fucking mansion with that asshole of a man laying claim on us!" Wrapping his arms around her waist he pulled her into his lap, his laughter dying down to chuckles.

"But he's dead, and we're free, no shackles binding us to anything but what we believe in. Considering you are who you are, I'm surprised that you still suffer bad dreams." She crossed her arms again, looking at anything but him in the room.

"I cut the shackles by doing what I wanted to do. Granted I can go a bit mad sometimes with my research subjects but-" He pulled her tighter and rested his chin on her shoulders.

"I personally love it when you go mad. It's very amusing to watch."

"You think so?" She asked, suddenly feeling a lot better than what she had earlier. He pulled back and tapped her forehead.

"Of course, you're very good at getting what we want and need. Thanks for getting me that auction hall. It'll serve us well."

"Anything for you, big brother." She said with a wide grin. She loved being praised by him, it made her feel useful. But Doflamingo voiced a question that made her newly made good mood disappear in an instant. His question made her feel inferior and small again.

"What's bothering you, precious?" She didn't try to change the subject, didn't try to evade the question. They knew each other too well, neither of them would be able to trick the other. Instead, she revealed her fear, how she had for a moment succumbed to the fear of having to face the nobles in the auction hall, how she feared she would lose to them again after having won only one battle which had given them their freedom. The bad memories of her childhood home, a prison in its own right, which she had buried under the madness which had risen in her after she killed their father, had come back, taunting her, whispering dreadful truths and frightening scenarios in her ear…

"I don't want to lose anything to those assholes." She ended the seemingly endless explanation, glaring at his chest. She hated the fact that she could go on hours without end if it concerned her fears. She was a pirate now, serving her brother. They were strong, their comrades were strong, they were special. By all means she should not have to suffer these frightening thoughts at all, but they were still there.

And she hated it.

"Dominica, don't fear the nobles. They'll never be able to take you, not even the world nobles can do that." Her brother told her, moving her long blonde hair back to be able to see her face.

"If the world nobles come, they'll come with an admiral and we'll-"

"They'll never be able to take you." He repeated sternly, before resting his forehead against hers, teal meeting teal.

"Because you belong only to _me._"

And he would be damned if he ever let a world noble lay their grubby hands on her again.


End file.
